Of Apples And Trees
by GoldenQuill7
Summary: Oneshot. Merlin receives a visitor, and it takes him a while to recognise her. Behind-the-scenes Arwen.


**A.N. **This has been sitting on my computer for months now and I never uploaded it. It's a pretty simple, light story but I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

**Disclaimer: **Merlin isn't mine, or things would have been very different.

* * *

_**Of Apples and Trees.**_

The mattress sagged under Merlin's slight weight as the last rays of the day shone through his window; he had been given the evening off, and though he suspected that the Queen had had some hand in swaying Arthur to grant him this liberty, he was grateful nonetheless. It had been a trying day for all three of them, and Merlin was secretly glad to be away from the royal couple that night.

_The morning council session was in progress, and as Merlin struggled to stifle a yawn, the stern-face Lord Stromley stood when his turn to speak came about._

"_Sire, I wish to bring up a matter of some – ah – delicacy, if I may?"_

_A line appeared between Arthur's eyebrows, but he gestured for Stromley to continue; he had been one of Uther's advisors before Arthur's time, and had often been relied upon to speak on behalf of the council, as he did now._

"_We – the other barons and myself – hold some concern about the matter of succession. You are, of course, young, sire, and have only been king for a little more than two years but—"_

"_Stromley, what are you saying?" Arthur cut in, and Merlin detected the tiny hint of danger in his tone; catching Guinevere's eye, he saw that she had noticed it too, unlike the others who remained unperturbed._

"_You have no heir, sire," Stromley stated "And we live in dangerous times. Your father—"_

"_My father's priorities, however well-intentioned they may have been, are not my own." Arthur interrupted once again, tone still even._

"_Indeed, but perhaps you should consider the matter carefully. Camelot needs an heir. And if, for some reason, there are – ah –difficulties in…"_

_This time he trailed off, finally quailing under Arthur's icy gaze. Beside him, Guinevere looked mortified for a moment before composing her features carefully._

_Nothing more was said on the matter that day, but the tension in the room had been palpable; after all, it was no secret that the question was being asked in all corners of the kingdom._

_Two years and no child… Why?_

* * *

Merlin had been dismissed by a pensive Arthur, and hadn't had the heart to even make a joke about the rarity of these situations, instead thanking the king quietly and leaving him alone with his queen. He had never heard them discuss it openly, but every time children had come up in conversation at banquets or audiences, both Arthur and Guinevere seemed to tense, and Merlin knew them well enough to acknowledge it as a sore point.

He stared at the ceiling, grateful for once that he had been bestowed with his life and not that of a king. For a king is a king first and a husband second.

Just then, Merlin was startled out of his reverie by a crash and shriek from Gaius' chambers, which he knew to be empty. Shooting off the bed, he clattered down the stairs noisily, coughing as he inhaled a large part of a smoke cloud that had materialised in the large room. Pulling his scarf over his nose and mouth, he continued into the room, and a slender figure slowly came into view.

As the dust and smoke settled, he distinguished that the figure was a teenaged girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen. As she turned, still partly obscured by the haze, she gasped.

"Merlin! I didn't know you'd be back so soon! I'm so sorry, I was looking for Sabra and Lacky – you know how they always run off – and I told them not to touch the beaker but then Lacky spilled it all over me and I knocked some things over and I think they must have run away, as usual, but I prom—"

Merlin frowned, confused, and as the air became clear once more her expression matched his own. He tried to place her dark olive face and hazel eyes, and came up with nothing.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

Her eyes widened, and just then, Gaius shuffled through the door clutching at a bundle of herbs. He stopped in his tracks at the inexplicable mess, glancing between Merlin and the stranger.

"Merlin? Who is this? What happened?"

Apparently this was too much, and Merlin had to dash forward with all the speed he possessed to catch the girl as she sank into a dead faint.

* * *

"So you say she knew your name?"

Merlin had laid the girl on Gaius' patient bed, and was seated at her side as they waited for her to come round. He did not take his eyes off her; he couldn't help but feel as though he did know her from somewhere, but couldn't place where, like a long-forgotten memory.

"But I don't know her. And she mentioned some other names, said I knew them too… But Gaius, I honestly don't know who she is, or how she got here. I just heard the explosion and she was _there_."

"I'll concede that she looks familiar… Perhaps she's a serving girl of one of the visiting lords?"

"But how would she know me then?"

"Well, you _are_ King Arthur's manservant, it's a prestigious position,"

Merlin snorted, taking his eyes off the girl to give Gaius an incredulous look.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm just saying you're well-known."

"Well, that's nice," Merlin deadpanned, turning back to the lifeless figure before him "And I thought my job had no perks."

He could almost _feel_, Gaius' exasperated look boring into the side of his head. Before he had the chance to respond, however, the girl coughed, spluttered, and then sat bolt upright with a gasp. Merlin clasped a reassuring hand to her shoulder.

"It's alright, you're safe. You're in Gaius' chambers." He soothed "How are you feeling?"

"_Gaius'_ chambers?" she repeated incredulously, looking round with wide eyes, before gazing at Merlin as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Yes, er, the Court Physic—"

"I know who Gaius is," she cut in "I just… I wasn't expecting…"

"It's alright, you're in good hands. What's your name?"

"Am—Amy," she stammered "My name is Amy."

"Well, Amy, I'm Merlin… Though I think you already know that."

She nodded, still looking overwhelmed.

"Forgive me, but I don't think we've met," Merlin said gently, faintly embarrassed at not remembering who she was "How is it that you know me?"

"Er… We, erm… We, ah, met when I was very young… Long time ago… In a manner of speaking."

"In a manner of speaking?" Merlin frowned "Where are you from?"

"Camelot… I'm sorry Merlin, I don't know how I got here, I can't think straight, I—" her tone began to rise to hysterics, and Gaius stepped forward with a tincture of poppy to calm her, as he had predicted he would need to.

Amy fell asleep quickly, as Merlin had been instructed to not upset her further, and she slept through the night as Merlin lay awake in his room, perplexed by her.

* * *

"MERLIN! GET DOWN HERE NOW OR I'LL—" Arthur's tirade was cut strangely short, reduced to a murmur through the door as Merlin woke with a start, realising that he was very, _very_ late for his duties.

"I'm sorry, Sire, I…" Merlin's voice petered out as he descended the stairs to find Arthur blushing and apologising to Amy, seemingly woken up by his shouting. Though he could only see her in profile, Merlin saw the same wide-eyed expression that she had worn when she had seen his face clearly for the first time as she gazed up at Arthur curiously. Gaius, meanwhile, was admonishing the king in a way that only he could get away with.

"Arthur, as much as I believe in hard work, I'd prefer if you wouldn't come charging into my chambers when I have a weak patient—"

"I'm not _weak_!" Amy cut in indignantly, and swung her legs off the bed to stand and stretch, dusting the grey dust of the previous say off her skirts. Merlin drew a breath as for the first time, he realised that her gown was far too ornate to belong to a servant, or even a wealthy merchant's daughter – she was nobility. As she drew herself up to full height, it was even more pronounced, not only in her attire but in her bearing, which free of the previous day's emotional trial, had become obstinate and almost haughty. Arthur seemed to notice this too.

"My apologies for disturbing you, Lady… Er…"

Merlin saw something flicker in Amy's eyes, and her mouth constricted slightly.

"Amy."

"Lady Amy… I don't believe we've met. Are you here with your parents?"

"Erm…"

"Sire, Amy has been through something of an ordeal, she came to us yesterday afternoon with no recollection of how she got here. Merlin and I are looking into it." Gaius interjected, earning a grateful look from Amy for leaving the obvious magical element out of her story.

"Right, excuse me for prying. Merlin?" Arthur's tone was cordial, but his expression indicated that Merlin was not going to be let off the hook so easily. With a sigh, he left the room, and the unknown entity that was Amy.

* * *

Merlin wasn't dismissed until late that evening, and after a day spent with a short-tempered Arthur and a withdrawn Guinevere, he was relieved to come home to the puzzle that was Amy's presence. He found her and Gaius chatting amiably over dinner, and was duly informed that she had been assisting the physician with his rounds that day. As Merlin helped himself to stew, he asked about her interest in medicine.

"Oh, I'm not an apprentice by any means," she replied after swallowing a mouthful of bread soaked in stew – she did not, Merlin noticed, speak with her mouth full – and grinned "I just pick things up quickly."

Merlin nodded, and as he turned, bumped the table and the pitcher of water tumbled to the floor, spattering everywhere.

"Sorry, sorry sorry! Gaius, where's the mop?"

"Why don't you just use magic?" Amy asked, before clapping her hands over her mouth. There was a stunned silence as the three registered the impact of her words. Merlin suddenly felt dizzy, and Gaius guided him to a seat.

"You… Know…?"

"Yes," she sighed, resigned to her faux pas "Sorry Merlin, I didn't mean to—"

"Who are you?" he finally demanded, pushed beyond delicacy "Where are you from? How do you know about my… my magic?"

Amy stood quickly, her chair scraping loudly against the flagstones, and began to pace, looking stricken by her own stupidity. Her lips were pushed into a pout, and she stared into the distance, lost in thought as she walked back and forth, formulating her answer. Finally, she turned sharply to face them.

"I can't tell you."

"Amy," Gaius said gently before Merlin could open his mouth angrily "You can trust us."

"I know I can but if I tell you who I am then you'll want to know more and Merlin's told me about the dangers of knowing too much about things you're not supposed to."

"I have not, I don't even _know_ you!" Merlin exclaimed, and Amy looked more distressed.

"That's just it though, I know you but you don't know me yet!"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Temporal magic, of course…" Gaius murmured, shuffling across the room to peruse his bookshelf as Amy sank into her seat, face in hands. Merlin stared at her.

"Yet?"

"Yes, Merlin. Yet." Amy replied dully "I seem to have found myself out of time,"

"So those people…"

"From my time… Which hasn't happened yet."

"You're a noble from Camelot's future?" Merlin asked, all agitation gone from his voice now "So you know me, and Gaius… I'm assuming Arthur's still king?"

She nodded mutely.

"Do you live in the palace?"

"Yes," she said "Or I did… Will… With my family."

Merlin reached over to clasp her hand. Now that she was so subdued, her youth became more pronounced. She was, in truth, just a young girl. A lost, scared, girl who was very good at convincing them that she was otherwise.

"We'll get you home, Amy. I promise."

She looked at him then, with such belief and trust that he immediately felt a rush of affection for her – whoever she was, by the look on her face she believed in Merlin wholeheartedly.

"I've found the book I need," Gaius announced, returning with a heavy tome under his arm "But it may take a while to find the right spell to get you home safely."

"That's alright. Thank you, Gaius. May I stay here until we do? It's just I have nowhere else…"

"Without question," Gaius smiled at her "you can have Merlin's room."

Merlin glanced up at Gaius with a slightly exasperated look before conceding that she could take his quarters. The lull in conversation was relieved by a knock at the door.

"Gaius?" came Guinevere's soft voice from the door.

"Milady! Come in!"

The queen entered the room, and smiled wanly at the three of them.

"Ah, yes, Arthur said you had a guest," she moved forward to clasp Amy's hand in her own "Hello, Amy, I'm Guinevere."

"M- Milady," she stuttered; Merlin noticed that, strangely, she did not seem nervous despite her stammer.

"Have you managed to remember anything of what happened to you?" Guinevere asked kindly.

"No… Milady. Nothing."

"I'm sure Gaius and Merlin will be able to help you… In the meantime, if you need anything, somewhere to stay…"

"Thank you." Amy did not look away from the Queen, even as she asked for a sleeping tonic from Gaius and took her leave. It was only when Guinevere left that she seemed to remember herself, and sat down again. She soon excused herself and went up to Merlin's room.

"Do you feel like she's not telling us something?" Merlin asked Gaius as he leafed through spell upon spell to do with time travel. Gaius looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"For once, Merlin, I think you may be right."

* * *

Days passed, and Gaius and Merlin made slow progress on finding a spell to send Amy back to her own time. As it was, she occupied herself helping Gaius and wandering the castle, as she informed Merlin that she did not need a guide to navigate halls she had known for years. Camelot had changed very little in the time between the present and Amy's day.

They had worked out that roughly eighteen years separated the two periods, and though Amy was reluctant to give any information about Camelot's future, Merlin was secretly pining to ask her a myriad of questions about her time. However, Amy was smart, and refused to give an inch.

One day, while Merlin was out on the training fields with Arthur and the knights, he spotted her in a tunic, trousers and boots that she had borrowed from him; her own dress had become dirty, and while she waited for it to dry she dressed in men's clothing.

"Lady Amy!" Arthur called warmly, waving her over "Any luck with finding your way home?"

"I'm afraid not, sire."

The story that the three had put about was that Amy had received a knock to the head and had been brought to Gaius by a mysterious stranger. Upon waking, she had revealed that she was from a distant land, and was currently trying to arrange safe passage home.

Presently, it did not escape anyone's notice that she was perusing the sword rack with some interest. The day was warm and the knights were not clad in mail or armour; it was far too hot.

"It's unusual for a lady to be fascinated by such things," Arthur remarked lightly as she approached the weapons, running her fingers across the pommels of a few.

"My father always encouraged us to learn to defend ourselves. I know enough, but my sister _loves_ swordplay, she's better than my brother. Which isn't difficult, really."

Gwaine gave a belly laugh at that.

"And yourself?"

Amy raised an eyebrow at him before selecting one of the skinnier – but not the skinniest – blades.

"Care to spar, Sir Gwaine?"

Merlin was glad of the laughter that distracted any of them from asking how it was that she knew Gwaine. As it was, he smiled at her indulgently.

"I couldn't fight a lady… You might get hurt."

"Try me."

Merlin had become accustomed to feeling odd twinges of familiarity when Amy did or said certain things, and now was one such occasion. The challenge, the thinly-veiled arrogance…

Gwaine decided to humour her, and raised his sword. It was obvious that he intended to go easy on her…

And within minutes, she had him flat on his back, two blades pointed at his throat, yielding with a furious blush colouring his cheeks and ears.

"Don't feel too bad," she said, helping him up with a grin "I learned from some of the best. My father is one of the greatest swordsmen in all of Albion."

"Albion?" Arthur frowned. Amy suddenly looked uncomfortable, but managed to channel it to appear as cultural ignorance. Merlin's heart jumped into his throat_. The time of Albion will come to pass. Arthur's Golden Age. It will happen._

"My apologies, it's what we call the Five Kingdoms back home," she explained smoothly, and Arthur smiled and expressed that he would like to spar with her father sometime.

"That would prove difficult," she said lightly "He's very far away, sire,"

"Of course,"

* * *

"You should be careful,"

"Hm?" Amy was preoccupied with checking the layers of her skirts to see if they were dried through in the late sun as Merlin helped.

"Today, with the 'Albion' thing… That hasn't happened yet."

She gave him a rueful look before exiting the kitchens with her gown over one shoulder. The two walked the battlements together in the twilight.

"It was a mistake."

"Mistakes can be dangerous," he insisted, and she sighed with irritation.

"I know that, _Mer_lin, or I wouldn't be here!"

It was then, when she said his name in that tone, that it clicked at long last. He seized Amy by the shoulders and spun her to face him. She still looked agitated, and he suddenly saw it. The way she pouted when she was upset. The posture. The air of pride and bravado. The cheekbones. But also the freckles. The flawless manners. The diplomacy and generosity. The way she babbled when she was unsure of herself.

He realised that he was grinning like an idiot.

She, meanwhile, looked disconcerted.

"Why didn't I see it before?" he chuckled before leading her to Gaius' at a brisk pace. It did not take long to reach the physician's quarters, and once they did, Merlin took the gown from Amy and carefully hung it over a chair. Gaius looked up from the spellbook excitedly "Mer-!"

"Sssh, Gaius, I have some questions for our guest," he was still smiling, and Amy still looked uncertain.

"What's your real name? I know it can't be 'Amy'."

She stared at him obstinately for a few moments, which only served to make him grin wider. Finally, fed up, she threw her hands in the air.

"Amhara,"

Gaius gasped quietly; of course he knew its significance. It was an old name, a royal name.

"Your full name?" Merlin pressed, and at long last, she gave a grudging smile.

"Princess Amhara Pendragon," she said, the ghost of defiance in her tone.

"And how old are you?"

"As of now? I'd hazard a guess at minus two or three," she replied sardonically before Merlin gave her a look and she conceded, "I'm sixteen,"

"You parents are…?"

"King Arthur and Queen Guinevere," she replied in a tone that indicated how obvious this was "I'm the eldest,"

"Eldest?" Merlin queried, surprised, and he saw Amhara's face cloud with frustration at herself for giving so much away.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this—"

"I promise, I'm good at keeping secrets." Merlin reassured.

"So I've heard," she replied drily, and he flushed.

"Siblings?"

"A little sister and brother. Sabra and Llacheu."

"Who tend to run off?" he asked, referring to their first meeting, and she nodded.

"I'm going to kill them when I get home," she said earnestly, and Merlin laughed.

Gaius spoke up at this.

"Which, incidentally, will be very soon. I've found the spell to send you back."

Amhara and Merlin looked at one another excitedly, but Merlin also felt a twinge of sadness. Even reminding himself that he would know her in the future, even watch her grow into this companion who he found himself liking immensely – which, he realised, made sense considering that she was two halves of his closest friends – he would miss her in the meantime.

* * *

They readied everything that the spell necessitated, which involved the brewing of a potion over a blue candle and the burning of several herbs. Before Merlin could begin the incantation, however, Amhara turned to him.

"I overheard one of the servants saying that they heard my parents fighting because they think they'll never have us… Have children, I mean" she blurted out, clearly perturbed by this fact, and having been so for days judging by her dismayed expression. Merlin pulled her into a hug, and she clung to him tightly.

"Don't worry, I'll look after them," he said into her dark hair before releasing her. She looked appeased, and gave him a wobbly smile.

"You always have."

He smiled at her, grateful for this veiled assurance that everything would be alright.

The potion had to be poured in a ring on the floor around Amhara as Merlin incanted the spell. He was aware of her watching him, face unreadable as he practiced this forbidden art that she was so familiar with. As his voice intensified, the ring glowed an electric blue, and suddenly in a whirl of blue light, she was gone.

* * *

Arthur, Merlin and the knights were seated around the table with copious amounts of alcohol; it would have looked festive, if it weren't for the fact that no-one was speaking. It had been a long night, and the atmosphere was tense despite the effects of the drink. Finally, a woman in a stained apron strode in, wiping her hands, looking weary. Arthur jumped out of his seat, eyes alert despite his sleep deprivation.

"A girl," she smiled at him.

He gave a shaky laugh and wiped his eyes with a sleeve as Gwaine whooped and the others offered more controlled congratulations, the mood of the room relaxing into quiet jubilation. As Arthur made to leave, the knights were already discussing the prospect of the trouble she would likely get herself into, as only Pendragons were capable of.

Merlin, meanwhile, fought to conceal his knowing grin as he rose to accompany Arthur on the walk to meet his little princess.

* * *

Reviews are always appreciated!


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